September 29, 2011 – CANADA – Half of Canada’s ancient ice shelves have disappeared in the last six years, researchers have said, with new data showing significant portions melted in the last year alone. This ice lost during the Canadian summer this year equals up to three billion tonnes or about 500 times the mass of the Great Pyramid of Giza, a statement released by the university said. “Since the end of July, pieces equaling one and a half times the size of Manhattan Island have broken off,” said Luke Copland, researcher in the Department of Geography at the University of Ottawa. Oil rigs in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas may be at risk from large icebergs that broke off the shelf and are now floating south, he said. Assistant Professor Derek Mueller, a researcher in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, said that Canadian ice shelves had halved in size since 2005. “The ice shelves were formed and sustained in a different climate than what we have now. As they disappear; it implies we are returning to conditions unseen in the Arctic for thousands of years,” he said. Professor Steven Sherwood, Co-Director of the University of NSW’s Climate Change Research Centre, said the rapid pace of melting showed that recent global warming was unnatural. “The real significance of this, in my view, is that this ice has reportedly been there for thousands of years. The same is true of glaciers that have recently disappeared in the Andes. These observations should dispel in one fell swoop any notion that recent global warming could be natural,” he said. –Physics.org

28 Responses to Half of Canada’s ice shelves have disappeared in the last 6 years

This is going to be somewhat of a rant. I like this site, and it has some really interesting observations about many things going on in this world. But, somewhat lop sided on the AGW thing.

First he says: “As they disappear; it implies we are returning to conditions unseen in the Arctic for thousands of years” then “These observations should dispel in one fell swoop any notion that recent global warming could be natural”

Wait, so thousands of years ago the ice melted, and somehow the melt now means something?
Greenland used to have active agriculture on it, are we there yet?

Sorry, but I am frustrated with this notion that we broke a record 100 years old, WOW, the sky is falling, the planet has been around for a lot longer than that. Is it not kinda arrogant to think that there has never been any temperatures outside that 100 year span in a given point on the globe?

So while some maybe oooeeing and awing about eastern Canada and Western Europe being warm, Western Canada and the US is looking at another early skiing season, again. And in many places people are complaining of the short growing season this year.

It’s not a rant; it whining. Tom, the site is about Earthchanges and that’s what I’m going to report. You can find just as many stories about excessive snowfall on the site. Follow the link below. I don’t publish stories to placate to anyone’s agenda. I don’t believe in global warming…no more than I believe an Ice Age is a natural event and quite frankly, I’m on neither side of the argument about where the planet is headed- it’s a waste of time in my mind. Cold doesn’t exist- it’s the absence of thermal energy. This is always about a thermal cycle and always will be. It’s planetary warming and cosmic radiation is the variable on the planet when the Sun goes quiet—– and volcanoes erupt and foster a cooling cycle after extreme heating at the core.

There is evidence to show, that OTHER planets in our Solar System, are warming up as well.
If this is the case, then ‘global warming’ or ‘planetary warming’, may not be ALL ‘mankind-driven’ or artificially caused.

We might be able to control artificial, ‘man-made’ warming somewhat.
If it is ‘cosmic’ in origin, then there is nothing that we can do to stop it…. other than adjust accordingly.

Come on Tom this is a website is just giving information on earth changes. I really don’t understand how this article would annoy you. Unless your a scientist who puts in the time and effort who researches these things and than writes articles about it than fine but I doubt you are. Keep calm and ride a bike and get some fresh air. Nothing like this should make you rant like a teenager.

Not forgetting also the connection between cosmic ray flux and cloud creation. IIRC some studies have shown a relationship whereby cosmic “ray” particles striking the atmosphere create more cloud cover thus increasing the albedo effect which would lead to a cooling period.
If I understand it correctly, cosmic radiation is mostly charged particles, protons and hydrogen nuclei. The solar wind and earth’s magnetic field usually shield us from this.
So if our sun enters a period of low activity and the solar wind wanes, simultaneously our geomagnetic field is decaying, and both factors allow more cosmic radiation to affect the earth.
Previous studies have shown periods of global warming occur before the onset of glacial periods or ice ages – is that what we are seeing here? I guess only time will tell.
There is a pretty good article here on cosmic radiation and climate variability:ftp://rock.geosociety.org/pub/GSAToday/gt0307.pdf

What annoys me is the assumptive sale that is not challenged by this site.

That assumptive sale is that AGW is a fact. We’ve had more named storms this year the in the last 10, so it must be proof of AGW, what?? Completely ignoring other historic events. It is almost laughable, it really is.

Basically the statements are equivalent to “So {Bill}, when did you stop beating your wife?”

So yes, I find it interesting, when a large land mass is warmer than normal. But how come how come every time a large land mass is warming than normal I read “It is proof AGW is true”.

BUT, when there is a large land mass that is colder than normal I don’t read “Proof AGW is wrong”

In my humble opinion, and I am far from an expert, but you can not look at the temperature extremes in the historical record of this planet, and prove anything, people often get correlation confused with causation.

I often wonder if human kind is doing more to the planet with moving mass than anything else. We are creating huge lakes, moving mountains, exploding nuclear bombs under ground, emptying aquifers, releasing pressure from oil and natural gas reserves, mining, fracking, HAARP. And who knows what else I am forgetting. And really, upping the CO2 partial pressure by a few PPM is going to cause us harm??

Again Tom, your frustration is your desire for control of content that’s tailored to your belief system and as I said, I’m impervious to such biases from anyone. Facts are neutral. If the ice is diminishing one year in one part of the world; that’s the facts. If there is excessive snowfall the next; that is also the facts. If you know of any other way to adjudicate a case in court by not considering all the facts relevant; I’m all ears. Ice Agers don’t want to hear warming scenarios and Global Warmers don’t want to hear about extreme winter conditions. This is why the train is destination nowhere. Ice Agers can no more explain the extreme high temperatures and prevasive droughts gripping Oklahoma and Texas than Global Warmers can explain excessive snowfalls in the Sierras. I have stated in my book unequivocally that it is my belief, based on my findings, that the planet’s spectrum is not succumbing to either a global warming scenario or an Ice Age but a collapse of climatic conditions altogether. The planetary thermal mechanism is thrown into chaos resulting in extremes in jet stream migration, volcanism, ocean heating and expansion, heighten seismic activity and tectonic plate movements- as the magnetic field further erodes.

Personally, I enjoy these articles. If I happen to disagree with the conclusions, so be it. However, it gives me another spectrum to look at. Personally, I don’t believe in “global warming” the way our governments would like us to believe. I feel it is just a ruse to haul in more money and create more laws and regulations. Does that mean we don’t need some of these laws? Absolutely not. I rather enjoy breathing cleaner air than we had before. Does that mean that some of these regulations are going to far into our personal lives? I believe so.

Also personally, I believe that an Almighty God controls what happens to this planet. He will one day create a new heaven and a new earth. But until that time, that doesn’t mean we should be careless about this one.

Alvin, I hope I didn’t get off subject, but I would never criticize the articles you post. I love this site, where we can all have our own opinions and respect each other opinions.

I disagree, Tom. Whenever I hear someone dismiss the concept of Global Warming I immediately think two things, one, that the phrase “Global Warming” is itself misleading, and two, that people really don’t think things through and are content to listen to simple descriptions of events.

Systems as complex as the Earth rarely display simple overall trends when undergoing change. New warmer patterns are oftentimes offset by more extreme cold conditions in other areas. What we should be looking for, and this site documents very well, are CHANGES, new and troubling patterns of extreme conditions on all ends of the spectrum.

I live in Chile, and trust me, we’ve seen new extremes these last few years. Some of the rainiest winters, hottest summers. If it was just the weather and environmental conditions changing you might be able to hypothesize that it forms part of a longer (thousands of years) climate cycle. However, coupled with increasing seismic activity, irreversible changes to the biosphere, the unraveling of the global social and economic framework, things point to major, Earth-changing events coming. We’re in for a very serious ride and I have no clue whether all of humanity as we know it will survive.

So, when a new article is posted in this site, what it means is that we have a new piece of information; we have a new dot to place on our Earth-watch map, new data that might help some of us understand a little bit more what is truly happening and PLAN, PREPARE, get READY.

And finally, the site itself didn’t make the comment regarding global warming. A professor did, and the site informed it. I for one am glad, information is what we need.

This site is unique. It’s an oasis in a desert of mind-numbing information, a ray of light in an ever-growing social blindness that sees only consumer goods and individualism. Do what this site asks of you. Read, inform yourself, and open your eyes, mind and heart and observe the changes happening to our planet.

Oki Tom! I can feel your frustration because you are not able to control ANY of the events happening around you and this beautiful Earth. I do not speak for anyone but myself, but I must say that generally the people who follow this site are very grateful for the daily stream of information that we receive from Alvin and EP. EP does not write these articles they are from every source imaginable. There is no left wing/ right wing paradigm here, just massive amounts of information presented in an intelligble, easily accessible manner. I have yet to find another site like this, and am relieved to receive data from all over the world and commentors that are generally respectful and thankful to be here. Most of the sites I visit have 100’s if not 1000’s of people posting hate-filled arguments, everyone trying to bully their opponents into accepting their personal beliefs, attacking, anyone who disagrees. I thank the Creator that this is not the case here. Out of respect for the hard work that Alvin does in presenting more information and factual articles than seems humanly possible, I could not imagine criticizing this site when he is presenting all viewpoints.
I hope you will take the time to read all the archives and the book and see what a unique site this is!

Somehow or another I think this guy knows Big Bad Al or will soon, lol. but seriously this news is very signifigant. Something some of us were aware of, but again I cant really grasp it totally ‘what the ????’

Human kind’s privilege to dodge any role in global warming acceleration is running thinner. Denial is a nice but immature way to keep a superficial peace of mind. At the end of the day, accountability will not impact our sense of guilt, but our capacity to meet the upcoming challenges and adapt to survive. Thanks for posting this insightful article Alvin. The Inuits have known about this for decades. Our lack of wisdom is the true tragedy and the root of our failure as a species. May the future generations forgive us. I am not personally inclined to.

Mr Sherwood apparently does not understand the earth’s cooling and warming cycles which are very natural. The only reason it does not look natural to us is that these cycles take several thousands of years to occur and we, with a life span of less than 100 years, only see a small segment at a time. Core samples of rock and ice show the earth has been through many cooling and warming cycles over millions of years.

I doubt that some of that ice has been there for thousands of years. About 1,000 years ago, Greenland was relatively warm enough for the Norsemen to settle, but then they abandoned it when it got colder. So there may have been some periods of unusually warm temperatures even back then.

”These observations should dispel in one fell swoop any notion that recent global warming could be natural”
They really don’t get it, aren’t they. I think those ”specialists” should spend more times outside looking at what’s going on right now. They have such a narrow perspective, incredible!!!!

Ho, and just coming from an expensive report that we (canadians) paid for:
”Canada would benefit environmentally and economically from a post-2012 international climate arrangement that systematically reduced emissions from all emitters — including Canada — over time,” the report says.

They want you to believe it’s global warming. Over the past 65 years, the atomic nations of the world have released nuclear radiation into the Earth’s atmosphere. Fukushima spewing it out 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is what’s melting the ice caps on both ends at an extraordinary rate. All those 3 billion tons of water are going into the oceans – there’s been a lot of earth quakes and they’ll continue to increase in amount and magnitude.

Hi folks,
This is the threat as I see it. We are on the cusp of seven billion people inhabiting this planet. Our resources are stretched thin now and will be stretched a lot further in the near future.
Soon we will use up the aquifers that many large cities use as their cistern. Leaving the population no other recourse than to migrate. Humanity will become a casualty of not thinking about sustainability, not obeying the tenets of god and choosing greed. And unable to cope with not being able to purchase food at the neighborhood grocery store. We will go backward and our population will drop significantly. I think there were about a billion on this planet before oil. That is where I think we are headed. Imagine a major quake in California and it disrupts the 700 miles of pipeline that LA needs to use to exist during a mass exodus of refugees searching out for water because it has become a very precious commodity. Water is hydrogen and oxygen that’s it. Simple, but If our water is becomes more polluted than it is now ( tens of thousands of deaths daily) We better hope that some of the ancient water locked up in ice (storage) keeps being ice because it is pristine and therefore good to drink. We can create water but that is reliant on an energy source and energy sources will be hard to come by when we have collapsed to that point.
An article I saw yesterday talked about hydrogen sulfide being released into the air as part of a volcanic happening. Well their goes the drinking water for a few hundred thousand, maybe more.
There are many things to ponder, but I believe water will be the cu De gras.

I completely agree with this site and I have great respect for you Alvin.
Take care

Pure Global Warming diversion propaganda !!!
In the mean time they are using trillions of dollars of tax payers money for building their deep underground (D.U.M.B.’s) shelters pretending it is for military use, when in reality it is widely known that it being build for the Elite and government officials for in case of global calamity.
The rest of us will be left outside to die.

But then again, if one person who reads this, and takes a step back, and wonders why Mann, Hanson and the like won’t release their data, even under threat of contempt of court, why do I want to believe what they say? I digress.

Does not look scary to me, again archeological records show areas that are covered in ice, or too cold to grow anything now, once did. It has been warmer.

The only thing that bugs me is the assumptive sell for AGW. Yes, the globe has been warming, it has been warming, on average since the last ice age. If you actually look into the data, it has been cooling over the last 10. Well at least the data that is accessible by the common man. But what is true, the surface sensing network, saw it peeks of data and accuracy over a decade ago.http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/01/20/surface-temperature-uncertainty-quantified/
And more articles are out there on the quality of surface measurement.

What makes me upset, is based on AGW, the world is wasting billions of dollars on wind and solar energy. Those technologies are only lining the pockets of special interests, such as the recent debacles in the US.

For the real effect of the policy, look up “windmills birds” on google. If you where to kill an endangered bird, in the wrong area you could get charged, but windmills are killing thousands of birds a day, including eagles, bats, you name it. And the operators are free from prosecution, why?

But yes, there are bigger things to worry about, if all of the Volcano’s that are threatening to erupt, we might be pray for the CO2 theory’s to be true a leave our SUV’s running.